


Host

by Ghosty842



Series: Scentless and Senseless [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: (And pretty much continues all the way through), Aftermath of Child Death, Alpha Hank Anderson, Alpha on Alpha, Alpha/Alpha, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Character Death, Bisexual Hank Anderson, Bottom Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Bottom Hank Anderson, Canon-typical topics, Codependency, Connor (Detroit: Become Human) is Bad at Feelings, Connor is clueless about mating rituals, Discrimination, Elijah Kamski isn't an asshole, Emotional Constipation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Graphic Description of a serious Injury, Grief/Mourning, Introspection, M/M, Mating Bites, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Rituals, My First Smut, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omegaverse, Porn With Plot, Power Dynamics, Power Play, Smut starts in chapter 2, Sort of Police Procedural, Such as;, Suicidal Thoughts, Switch Hank Anderson, Two lonely guys falling for each other, Zeta Connor, Zeta is kind of a disability, bisexual awakening, lotta angst, zeta AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:34:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28779126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghosty842/pseuds/Ghosty842
Summary: Hank had lost more in a few weeks than Connor's ever had to begin with.There were a litany of other reasons why they probably wouldn't work either, but it certainly doesn't help that both men think the other just got stuck with them.If they could just get out of their own way, they might actually get a chance to start over.But dealing with one alpha's bruised ego is hard enough as is without complicating it with another.---Omegaverse AU where Connor is scentless
Relationships: Hank Anderson/Connor
Series: Scentless and Senseless [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941379
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Host

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The much requested sequel to Parasite, if you haven't read the first I'd highly suggest you do since it will be referenced heavily in this fic
> 
> Enjoy!

It had been roughly four years since the zeta started working in Detroit and he liked to think he had the department all figured out within his first year, but he never could have predicted how his co-workers had reacted to Hank's accident.

He'd always worked under the assumption that although the lieutenant wasn't the friendliest guy around, he was at least well respected by his underlings. Afterall, Hank had been the apex alpha around the department before...

Well, just _before_.

Being the biggest alpha must have helped somewhat but his once calm assertive demeanor and powerful scent along with his well earned stubbornness had been enough to safely land him as the top dog, second only to their captain. Yet even then, when Jeffery couldn't foster peace; Hank's presence alone had been enough to force it.

Recently however, the once calm cohesion the old alpha had maintained was long gone and the entire department was feeling it. There was a power vacuum left in it's wake that every alpha on the force was trying to fill.

The once professional atmosphere was now constantly filled with loud arguments and pungent standoffs, leaving everyone stressed and uneasy. Particularly the few omega's in the department. Even Connor had taken to doing paperwork in his car to avoid it most days.

The zeta had never really fit into the old ecosystem, yet even he missed it but nothing was worse than watching his alpha tense whenever they arrived at work though.

He couldn't really imagine how it must feel to watch the pecking order you'd worked so hard to firmly establish crumble right before your eyes... Then again, that was just one minor loss compared to the _other_ _one_.

It didn't help that so far Gavin Reed was the biggest contender for the new 'apex asshole'. It almost made sense really, after Hank he was the most senior alpha with a relatively high rank to boot.

What a disaster that'd be... Connor could see it already, constant undermining of the brass and a real pit of vipers for any new recruits or struggling officers. Gavin was in no way leader material. Scent and status be damned.

Of course, the little alpha was already trying to coerce the Lieutenant into a fight just about every day. Connor had no idea how or why, but Hank was sure it was some attempt to try gain legitimacy by fighting the biggest guy in the room.

He didn't see how that worked out in his favor if the little alpha lost, as he more than likely would considering Hank was still Hank but apparently winning was optional; _'What matters is he'd have done it without hesitation'_.

Again, it was astounding to think if nature hadn't messed up he'd be one of them. Battling over a broken man's title as if it was the most natural reaction to have to such a tragic event.

The biggest and most unpleasant surprise however was the name-calling. Of course he was no stranger to demeaning pet names being whispered behind his back or even chanted in his face, but Hank? Never in a million years could he have predicted anyone mocking the older man like that. Gossiping was one thing, but blatant disrespect?

Adding insult to injury, it was one of Reed's many nicknames that stuck.

Every time one of them passed someone would mutter it, "There goes one of the Defective detectives," or "Deficient duo". A two for one insult.

Whoever said Detective Reed wasn't creative?

ζ

In retrospect, it should have been obvious something was up from the ride home.

The alpha was always a bit overprotective but nowadays he didn't take no for an answer about dropping him off after his shift if they were working the same hours. Hell, sometimes he insisted even if they weren't and he'd drop him off before getting back to work.

It would have been a fine arrangement if only Hank hadn't sat there seething the entire time or taking out his frustration by bitching at him about every real or imagined slight against him. It was getting very draining but the zeta held out for a while, having to constantly remind himself that this was all new to the Lieutenant. But even his patience had limits, and after a particularly vicious argument Connor half expected that would be the end of their carpooling days.

Surprisingly the next day Hank had told him he'd drive him home yet again as if nothing happened. He almost snapped at him for having the gall to just causally stroll up and act like it was a given that he'd want to be anywhere near him but something stopped him just short of doing so.

It wasn't until they were in the freshly repaired rust bucket that it started to click into place. The most noticeable thing was that Hank reeked of that eerily familiar overwhelming charcoal and cinnamon stench, jaw clenched and his shoulders set tight and brittle. Most concerning of all was how quiet he was. He'd barely spoken a word all day, but the younger detective had assumed it was because of their fight -perhaps a bit self centered now that he thought about it.

For all he'd been irritated by it in the past the zeta found himself wishing that his friend's woodsy gunpowder scent was still there to give him some indication of just how bad the alpha's mood really was, and maybe clue him in on how to try make it better.

"Hey, sorry about yesterday... I-uh..." He stalled, struggling to find the words.

"You're always apologizing." The alpha huffed, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Sorry." Ugh, smooth Connor, no wonder you used to be one of the best crisis negotiators in Michigan. It really shows.

Hank hissed out a long drawn out sigh, raising the volume on the radio.

_O-kay..._ He guessed the lieutenant must have just wanted some time to himself. That he could understand at least, but it was nice of him to still keep up their usual routine even if he wasn't feeling very social.

For the rest of the ride home the detective kept himself occupied staring out the window and drumming his fingers against his thigh - It drove Hank insane to drum along the dash on a good day so best to be covert about it now. The silence between them didn't feel frosty but there was certainly something up, although what it was he couldn't figure out.

Hank had never been particularly difficult to read, he'd always worn his heart on his sleeve before he lost his scent and even now it wasn't like he was some expert at hiding how he felt but the zeta just couldn't get a clear reading on him today. It didn't help that he was so uncharacteristically quiet.

Maybe he was just losing his touch? Falling back into the trap of relying on scent indicators?

Whatever, they could start fresh tomorrow... Right now he could use a few dozen cigarettes to help him forget about the the day's caseload.

Once they got to his place the detective let out a relieved sigh, "Thanks for the ride." The older man looked like he wanted to say something. "Something on your mind?"

"... Never mind." He waved him off.

_Curious_... "Alright?... See you tomorrow then." He shook it off, Hank was prone to getting lost in his own head even before the accident. He probably just needed some time to himself to figure things out.

"Night," The alpha huffed, sounding pretty worn out himself.

Connor made his way inside, wanting nothing more than to just pump himself full of nicotine, cheap take out and sleep but Jack met him at the door barking loudly to attract the other two mutts putting a swift end to that plan. "Hey guys - Alright, alright fine." He gave them a few quick pets before grabbing their leashes, mentally cursing the beta that assured him with a straight face that Malinois' calm down after two years. Bet he was still laughing about it to this day.

The begrudging walk wasn't so bad really. It was dark out and not many people were around, not uncommon for this late in the year. Michigan was always chilly at the best of times, no amount of thermal vests or thick coats could keep it completely at bay.

He'd just jogged to the local dog park to let his pets off and tried to find some cover from the harsh wind to light up a cigarette. He let the three romp around for about two smokes before the cold started getting to him and he had to drag them back home. (Or more accurately drag Jack, the other two old boys were more than happy to go back home).

By the time they got back the cold had at least woke him enough to force him to make his own dinner, better than wasting money. Although calling some grilled cheese sandwiches a dinner might be a bit of a stretch.

He turned in for an early night; Early by a detective's standards anyway.

It felt like he'd only just closed his eyes when the sound of his watch chirping woke him. Should've just turned it off. No one calls at four AM with good news. Squinting against the harsh light of the screen he blindly swiped to answer, "Detective Stern speaking," He rasped.

There was a scoff from the other end of the line, "Yeah, I know it's you Connor."

"Wha- Hank?" He forced himself to sit up, "What's up? Is somethin' wrong?"

"... I didn't expect you to answer, truth be told."

"Why'd you think that?" He scrubbed at his eyes, trying to force himself to wake up. Hank went quiet for a while but upon hearing the wind buffering at Hank's end of the call the detective was suddenly wide awake. "Are you outside right now? Jesus, Hank it's barely 24 degrees out!"

"Yeah... Fuckin' feels it anyway." The older man sounded off.

"... Where are you at?"

"I uh... Really didn't expect you to answer. Kinda don't know what to say now if I'm honest."

"Well, I did. So tell me where you are, I'll meet you there." He snapped the SmartWatch on, dragging himself out of the bed to pull on the clothes he'd left abandoned on the floor.

"Ah, fuck... Knew I shouldn't've called."

"Too late, already got my shoes on. Now you gonna tell me where you are, or am I going to spend the night driving around looking for you?"

A tense silence stretched for a moment before the older man huffed out a wet laugh, "Shoulda guessed you'd be difficult... Riverside Park."

"Ah, that's the place just down the street from Ambassador bridge right? Yeah, I think I know it." The detective grabbed his keys before marching into the living room to grab his jacket. "Will you stay on the line?"

"Hm..."

"... Yeah, I mean I might get turned around you know?" He lied, slipping out before any of his old dogs could notice or pitch a fuss.

"Tch, yeah sure you would..." He heaved out another loud sigh, "I'm not gonna hang up..."

Oh thank god. "Good... Me neither."

His stupid electric piece of shit car's windscreen was damn near frozen solid. It'd take a few minutes for it to heat up enough to drive safely, if it started at all... Fuck it, he ordered a priority cab rather than wait.

Connor was never more thankful all cabs were autonomous, even if he barely had anything to say other than the occasional _'You still there?'_ it didn't feel like a call he'd want some stranger to overhear. When he arrived at the park he swiped his card and got out to try find the Lieutenant.

It didn't take long to find a tormented looking figure being lashed by the unforgiving frigid winds perched on the bench with his back to the kids playground. He approached cautiously. Jesus, how long had he been out here? He was already freezing and he'd only just got out of the cab.

He hung up the call, standing awkwardly next to the alpha trying to choose his words carefully. Apart from the snow clinging to the older man, he looked more put together than he'd seen him since... Well, ever. "... It's a nice view." He muttered lamely.

"Yeah well, I didn't come here for the weather..."

"Heh, I can't imagine anyone would." He glanced around the empty park and down at the riverbank before settling his gaze back on the other cop, noticing an empty six pack next to him. "You didn't drink the whole thing did you?"

The alpha huffed, lifting his coat to show the bottles still resting against his chest. "Kept freezing."

Christ Hank... "You not gonna offer me one?" He moved to stand between the lieutenant and the railing as nonchalant as possible given the circumstances. As much as he didn't want a drink right now, he wanted Hank to have it even less.

"I guess I should, dragged you out of a warm bed for this..." He reluctantly passed a body-warmed bottle over.

"It's fine, usually I'm woke up to rush out to another homicide. Getting woke up for drinks with a friend isn't so bad."

Hank scoffed, dragging his hand down his face, "Cut the crap, you know this isn't some impromptu picnic."

"What exactly is it, Hank?" He asked carefully.

"Haah, good fuckin' question... A lot more awkward with you here now."

"Hopefully so..." He muttered, "Why are you out here Hank? Really?"

"You of all people should know the answer to that." He growled quietly, "So, what now? Is this were you use your Jedi mind tricks on me?"

"No, it's probably around the time I tell you that the fall won't kill you. And that if you do something stupid, I'll be jumping in after you; And these are new shoes so please don't make me."

The Lieutenant went quiet for a while before shaking his head, sending a few of the snow flurries tumbling down from his hair. "Hardly Shakespeare..." He let out a humorless laugh, "Tough love isn't your style."

He forced a tight smirk, "Try me."

"... Well, what was your canned response to this one; 'Give me a reason not to'?"

"The fact that you felt the need to ask. Usually the one's who ask aren't too sure of it yet... Are you asking?"

The old alpha hesitated for a moment, "I wasn't... Then you answered the damn phone, like an asshole."

"I always do, you know that."

"Nah, I thought you switched off your business line like most of normal people."

"I'm a lot of things Hank, but we both know I've never been normal."

"Yeah... Well, here's your twin. We make a pretty miserable freak-show don't you think?" Hank let out a strained laugh. "Couple of defective fuckers, and everyone knows it..."

"... So, what? Was this the voicemail I had to look forward to tomorrow morning then?"

That seemed to knock the fight out of the troubled alpha at least, although he didn't like how he seemed to fold in on himself. "No, not that..."

The negotiator waited for him to elaborate before a strong breeze cut him to the bone, seemingly taking his patience with it. "Well? What was it?" He asked, folding his arms to try keep in some heat.

"Fuck, where to start?" The alpha took a sip, wincing and the coldness against his teeth. "Wasn't going to say any of this shit to your face; It's weird."

"This whole situation is weird Hank, just talk to me for god's sake."

He rolled the bottle between his hands for a while, Connor didn't try to rush him this time. "One thing I wanted to say was sorry; Sorry for blowing up at you the other day. Sorry you're always the one apologizing...Even when you did nothing wrong. Was gunna say I hated when you did that. Made me feel like some fuckin' bully, and that you should stick up for yourself more." He trailed off for a moment, "I didn't really have any plan or checklist to be honest... Was just gonna talk until I felt like I'd said enough."

The younger cop squeezed the bridge of his nose before moving to sit next to his partner. "You're not a bully Hank, you never were."

"Ha, good one... You must be the only fucker on the planet who knows me and doesn't hate my guts. And even then it's only cause you don't know any damn better." He ran his cold fingers through his semi neatly groomed hair, shaking a few more flakes loose. "Fuck there I go again, being an asshole... Say, you remember that note you wrote when I was in hospital? I think it was the eighteenth one?"

The zeta took a moment to think about it. Honestly, most of the notes he wrote were just caffeine and nicotine fueled rambling anxiety attacks spat into writing that only occasionally took some semblance of form before collapsing into nonsensical bullshit again. "You'll have to remind me which one, I wrote quite a few..."

"Heh, understatement of the century... I guess I woulda apologized that you know, this wasn't a real note but I don't know... I thought this would be easier? But yeah, it was around number twenty anyway. You wrote about how you went to my place to take care of Sumo and hassled my dog walker to let you in to replace my groceries... I liked that one." His voice got tight, "Just the mental image of you getting chased off by that gangly seventeen year old dork that walks my dumb dog and... You know, It was nice to know someone else was thinking about that kind of shit."

"Yeah, I remember that... Sumo was a nice house guest. Never had a dog that hated walks quite as much as him." He glanced at the lieutenant, "He missed you, you know. Used to sit in the corner by himself and cry. Barely ate most of the time too."

"Hm... People don't deserve dogs do they?"

"Some people don't. But you do, you take better care of that dog than you do yourself."

"That's not hard." He scoffed, "You know I bought him for Cole but..." The alpha scrubbed at his eyes quickly, "Got petty in the divorce. My mate hated big slobbery dogs though, so I guess it backfired... The only one who suffered was my boy."

Connor wasn't really sure what to say, so he just rested a hand on the other man's shoulder and settled in to listen.

"I really fucked it all up, didn't I?" The older man squeezed his eyes shut, "When I was younger I had it all, didn't I? And I fumbled every-damn-thing... Shit, even you played your hand a hell of a lot better. All I ever fucking did was ruin everything, I hurt everyone dumb enough to care about me. Even my last few days with my son were a lie; I just wanted him to stay with me instead of my mate and that bastard she's with now." He gestured over his shoulder, "He wanted to come here, but I just fuckin' had to insist we did something extra. Kid was happy enough just spending time with me and I still had to push for lake fuckin' Erie..."

"You couldn't have known, Hank. There was nothing wrong with wanting to do more. It wasn't your fault."

"Ha, easy for you to say... Wasn't your son." He seemed to deflate a bit, "Fuck, sorry... But his mother didn't seem to think so. First thing I see when I came out of it, about a million messages from her saying I killed our baby."

The zeta squeezed his shoulder tightly, "People grieve differently, some folks need someone to blame... I'm sure she probably blamed everyone and everything else too. It wasn't your fault."

"Fucks sake, well who else could it have been then, huh?" He snapped, "I don't have one of those shitty autonomous heeps of junk like you, I was the one driving-!"

"It was no one's fault! Come on Hank, snap out of it... We're around death enough everyday to realize there isn't any rhyme or reason to it. Sometimes bad things just happen to people who don't deserve it... And you definitely didn't deserve it."

The alpha stared off in silence for a while, "You know, you were the only one that wasn't blaming me for the accident when I woke up... When I read your stupid little letters it kinda made me think that you and Sumo were the only ones who'd miss me if I was gone. I guess that was why I called."

"I'm glad you did..." He took the risk of throwing his arm over the older man's broad shoulders. He felt cold to the touch. That sorrowful mutilated scent was still wafting off of the alpha but it wasn't as bad as when he first got here.

"..." He glanced at him, blue eyes slightly reddened "I guess another thing I woulda mentioned was when we first started to hang out,"

"Yeah the game we watched; Three to one in the other guys favor. Disappointing game."

"Heh, fuckin' hell... Disappointing night really. But I remember you saying it next time we hung out... You said you thought you were a bad person, I guess I woulda told you you weren't. Not even close. You just get treated like one, and it ain't fair... So, you know. Stop letting people do it."

The detective sighed, rubbing the distressed alpha's back, "You're not a bad person either Hank. Hell, you're probably one of the best guys I know."

"You must not know many then..."

"I know enough." He leaned into his partner more, for warmth and to try offer some comfort, "I told you, no one is nice to me without wanting something in return. But you always were."

"Not always." He corrected, "And it wasn't totally selfless, I had my reasons..."

"Jesus, you mean when I first started? I'm over it, you should be too." The younger man assured, "Well, whatever they are, you've more than earned them by now."

"My dad used to always tell me a real alpha doesn't put people down, he tries to build them up..." He muttered, "He told me that after beating my ass for picking on this beta."

Connor let out a quiet laugh, "Wise man."

"He had his moments..."

A quiet lull fell over them as the snow began to shiver down again.

Hank tossed his frozen bottle away with a muttered swear.

Connor felt like he should say something at least. "You know Hank... My life would be much worse without you in it. I know that's kinda sappy, but it's true. I was a lot lonelier before you; Just going through the motions. I didn't really have anything to look forward to on my days off or anyone to watch the game with." He cleared his throat, "Saying I'd miss you is putting it mildly. I mean for gods sake man, I followed you into a blizzard!"

"Heh... Never would've expected _'the parasite'_ was so damn loyal." The lieutenant let out a shaky laugh, shifting to wrap a freezing arm around his younger partner, "You're the worst..." He sniffled, pulling him closer as he finally seemed to submit to the silent sobs rattling out of his chest.

The detective held him tight, rubbing at his back carefully letting him cry onto his shoulder until his violent quaking turned back to sniffled sobs, "C'mon Hank, lets get the fuck out of here. It's freezing."

It took the alpha awhile to compose himself enough to let go. The zeta kept an arm over his shoulder as he lead him back to the car. "Want me to drive? You can stay at my place tonight, I'll take the couch."

Hank shrugged so he took that as a yes and started up the engine, waiting for the car to heat up enough for the windscreen to thaw out.

"... I don't want to go back to work." The alpha admitted quietly, shamefully.

Connor glanced over, "No one does, that's why they've got to pay us."

"I don't know how you did it for so many years. But I just don't want to see those smug faces again. They way those bastards look right through you and laugh..." He growled, starting at the frosted over window.

"Hank..." He sighed, leaning over to pat his partner's back. "You're close to retirement now. Just stick it out with me okay? We can manage for a while longer, right?"

"Guess we have to..." The older man let out a barely amused huff, "Dogs and zeta's... I don't know what we did to deserve them."

"Enough Hank, you did enough."


End file.
